Kansas City, MO. (April 28, 2016) — In a nationwide effort to clear homes of potentially dangerous, expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC) is supporting the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day taking place this Saturday, April 30. The service is free of charge and anonymous—no questions asked.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), deaths from prescription drug overdoses have reached epidemic levels in the United States. The national take-back effort seeks to raise awareness and reduce prescription drug abuse in our local communities by offering individuals and families a trouble-free and environmentally friendly way to rid their homes of unwanted prescriptions.

This Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Missouri and Kansas residents can help curb prescription drug abuse and misuse by dropping off their unwanted or expired prescriptions at various locations across Missouri and Kansas. Find a free, no-questions-asked collection site by going to www.dea.gov and clicking on "Got Drugs?."

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.

In addition, the methods most people use for disposing of unused and unwanted medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—pose environmental and health hazards.

For more information about National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, visit www.dea.gov and click on "Got Drugs?."

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, the largest not-for-profit health insurer in Missouri and the only not-for-profit commercial health insurer in Kansas City, has been part of the Kansas City community since 1938. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City provides health coverage services to more than one million residents in the greater Kansas City area, including Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas and 30 counties in Northwest Missouri. Our mission: to use our role as the area's leading health insurer to provide affordable access to health care and to improve the health of our members. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more information on the company, visit its website at BlueKC.com.